To re-new, or not to re-new: that is the (annual) question

Every year around this time, I face a familiar existential crisis – less Hamlet, more hamlet –namely, whether to quietly allow this blog to expire into the historical afterlife or renew its lease on life with another £200 and a whispered promise to stop being quite so emotionally attached to monarchs, caves, and highwaymen.

For those unfamiliar, Blackheath & Greenwich is a blog devoted to the curious corners of local history – the small, the strange, and the wonderfully unnecessary. It’s a place where gentlemen dual and jostle for attention with the glorious kings and queens who once shot at each other on the heath in battles and disputes.

I’ve always said no to adverts: the ones that slow every page down and flash at you like your life is in danger if you don’t click on how to detox with apple cider vinegar. But alas, the world is becoming far too expensive.

Running a website, like researching an eighteenth-century publican with three wives and a forged baptism record, is surprisingly costly. The platform wants money. The domain wants money. Even the plugin that helps me format footnotes demands tribute like some kind of digital tithe.

So I find myself here, awkwardly but earnestly, asking:

If you’ve ever read a post and thought, ‘Well, that was unexpectedly delightful’, or found your great-great-grandmother’s house thanks to an old map I dug out of a digital archive at 2 a.m, or simply appreciate the act of keeping local stories alive in a world determined to flatten them into retail parks… would you consider helping me to keep this blog going?

I’ve set up a Ko-fi page – a virtual tip jar. You can donate the cost of a coffee (or a historical pint, complete with weevils) and, in doing so, become an uncredited but much-appreciated patron of local lore.

Whether you donate, share, or simply continue to read these strange, stubborn entries – thank you. This blog exists because you still believe history doesn’t need to be big to be meaningful. It just needs to be remembered.

👉 Support the blog here

With gratitude,

Julie

Archival ferret, map enthusiast, and enemy of badly researched blue plaques.